Refashioning Quotes

My mother, Robin Bell, is the master of balancing the finite line between classic and creative when it comes to fashion. Mom has no qualms about unleashing the pinking shears on a vintage Givenchy dress if it means she'll wear it more once it's sleeveless.

I've always been into thrifting. I'm a fan of finding unique pieces and having them tailored or altered.

I'm not really a fashion designer. I just love clothes. I've never been to design school. I can't sketch. I can't cut patterns and things. I can shorten things. I can make a dress out of a scarf.

I often take things I find in vintage crawls and hand them to a very good seamstress, who then replicates them and makes a more robust version in different colors, with a pocket for my mic pack.

I like to customize my tights by cutting them myself to create a stirrup or convert the look into a capri.

I never had a massive desire to buy clothes. I liked to customise the clothes I already had or was given when I was younger. If I didn't like them that much, I made them how I wanted them to be.

I love making shorts out of jeans, or customizing denim. Basically, I like to rip and distress things... I love that look.

I like to put a little spin on traditional styles as I see them now, probably somewhat inspired by my current job on 'Boardwalk Empire.'

For me, reworking the past over and over again is a way not to trivialise the garments and not to obsess over hem lengths. What I am interested in, as a matter of fact, is telling a story and, if someone sees fragments of other stories in it, be my guest. I don't have to justify myself. What is urgent for me is what I want to say.

The true essence of fashion is being able to reinvent yourself with what you have.

If I find anything vintage, I'll have it tailored for my body.

I find some really cool, unique stuff in vintage shops. The good thing about vintage if that it doesn't quite fit you can customise it, like, make it shorter. The shorter the better!

Of course there are many ways we can reuse something. We can dye it. We can cut it. We can change the buttons. Those are other ways to make it alive. But this is a new step to use anything - hats, socks, shirts. It's the first step in the process.

I like to revamp things; like, I make to make things better in my eye, but I don't put out own lines... I just collab with my favorite brands.

I'll buy an old jacket and attach gold buttons and a couple royal patches. Or I'll find an old busted sweatshirt, tear out the zipper, and replace it with a $700 zipper. I make things my own.

I'm a fan of making things that I've seen but couldn't purchase, or things I bought that didn't fit the way I like.

I really love to resurrect pieces from my past collections and wear them to fashion week parties.

I really love secondhand clothes. It's fun to turn them into something new.

I have a gorgeous coat that I found at a vintage fair - it's just so elegant. Unfortunately, it has a massive hole underneath the arm, as I think I may have worn it to death!